Iran Businessman Executed For Embezzlement

A senior businessman was hanged Wednesday in a $400 million embezzlement scandal that forced the Islamic republic to acknowledge rampant corruption.

Fazel Khodadad was among eight men convicted in August of “sabotaging the country’s economic system” by misappropriating money from the state-run Bank Saderat.

The only one given the death sentence, he was executed Wednesday at Evin Prison, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The case attracted widespread attention in Iran and brought pressure on the government to stamp out official graft.